7 minute read
LEGAL REPORT
ALICE SPRINGS VIOLENCE ON NATIONAL TV WAS CIRCUIT BREAKER
For all Territorians, the recent TV report on A Current Affair depicting violence in Alice Springs was confronting, and embarrassing. It prompted feelings of sadness and anger in all who saw it, no matter your political views.
Having previously lived and worked in Alice Springs, it was unimaginable how we could tolerate beautiful Alice Springs in the Red Centre descending into what came across as complete anarchy, where respect for authority has been all but thrown out the door.
No one wants to see a town where residents do not feel safe walking outside after dark and discourage tourists for fear of the same.
This moment must be a circuit breaker where we act. The situation cannot go on. Chief Minister Michael Gunner claimed in announcing new measures to cut youth crime that “victims come first” and his government had “done that significant generational change, given police additional resources” and invested in more CCTV cameras, lighting, and youth workers. I am not sure the frontline would support all these claims. Resourcing our police force in the current environment continues to be a challenge, and it is important to acknowledge Commissioner Jamie Chalker APM has committed to a consistent recruitment campaign, adjusted based on attrition, which we can see today is taking place given the large volume of recruits being put through training, an approach our Association supports, and in line with a commitment from the Police Minister prior to the election in 2020.
Sadly, recent victims in Alice Springs are simply people going about their lives, such as disability support worker Shane Powell whose motorcycle was struck in an alleged hit-andrun incident, people broken into while they are at home sleeping, numerous people left traumatised after they were assaulted or robbed on the street at seemingly any hour of the day or night, not to mention our frontline workers who are assaulted.
Consistent feedback from our members includes frustration at feeling hamstrung because many young offenders continue to receive bail even after repeatedly re-offending, boast to police and victims that they are untouchable with police restricted largely due to section 18 of the Youth Justices Act (ability to interview youth). Half of the youths arrested are already on bail while last year NT Police said 118 or 16 per cent of 741 youth offenders committed half of the 6400 offences.
The NTPA welcomes the proposed changes to the Bail Act that would allow police the power to place into custody the worst repeat offenders who are a threat to the community, including those who are currently being bailed for offences such as breaking into an occupied home and serious assault.
However, our police need help now to deal with the crime wave of rising assaults and domestic violence and hope the fact that Labor has delayed debate in parliament is not a sign of a lack of commitment to the change. Labor’s recent commentary saying they may or will perhaps consider passing amendments on urgency must change to will pass on urgency. We know that some key bodies feel the proposed changes are a step backward from the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Youth Detention and we know many children are on the streets because their homes are not safe.
That longer term focus on the first 1000 days of a child’s life is the government’s responsibility. The short-term options of changes to Bail Laws and the Youth Justice Act so police keep people safe from crime can work in partnership with the longer term goal of generational change in the Northern Territory. The rights of victims of crime who have been traumatised and suffered life changing physical and psychological injuries must be considered. Their right to see justice served and not see offenders walk free must be balanced against the rights of offenders to therapeutic models of rehabilitation.
It is time to adjust the pendulum again to meet that balance and this must take place at the next available opportunity. Credit: Sunday Territorian, April 4, 2021.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
A recent outcome in Alice Springs highlighted the importance of understanding your rights in relation to workplace health and safety.
“Know your workplace rights, an unsafe order is an unlawful order, you can’t be ordered to do something unsafe.” That is the message to police officers from Northern Territory
Police Association Vice President
Chris Wilson following a recent dispute over safety and driver training in the Red Centre. Alice Springs’s instructors were surprised when they were told to conduct potentially risky defensive driving training courses for Auxiliaries with vehicles not fitted with passenger brakes for trainers. The extra brakes had been used in police training cars including four-wheel drives for more than 20 years, said
Sgt Wilson who was the officer in charge of driver training from 2006 to 2011. The instructors rightly complained to their Health and Safety Representative (HSR) that they had safety concerns, he said.
Sgt Wilson, who is a senior member of Command Training said he also raised his concerns through his chain of command, warning that training Auxiliaries in such a way was a safety issue that ignored the national Work, Health and Safety Act and NT Police policy. “This was a really unsafe decision, really unsafe. “I said it was a safety issue to prevent crashes and save lives, that they shouldn’t be doing this but the response was ‘no, you are doing it’, we were directed by email to use cars from Alice Springs without brakes. However the Chain of Command rejected their worries and deemed it an acceptable risk, directed that the training course go ahead and that evidence of safety problems be documented and reviewed later.
This year was the first time that had ever happened, said Sgt Wilson. “That’s not what happens in the safety world, if you take the safety control away you need to provide evidence on what your risk mitigation is and why that safety control has been removed. Auxiliaries drive police cars and transport prisoners as part of their duties and the defensive driving course has been approved by the training and advisory committee. “We are teaching them a new system of vehicle control, a new way to brake, to make sure you have got the gears to corner etc. An example of when instructor brakes are important is in instances when police are approaching hazards such as intersections and are trying to get the system right and there is a risk of them not paying attention to what’s going on around them. “I had to use the instructor brake on one corner in Alice Springs because we came up to a T intersection, I said turn right, we get there and he’s only just braking, he got gears, starts taking off and there’s a car on the left hand side coming towards us that he just missed it completely. “He was too busy working on what’s going on in the car, that’s quite common. When police command continued to refuse to provide cars with instructor brakes, the HSR escalated and the matter, ultimately issuing provisional improvement notices (PINs), a formal process in which notice is given to resolve the issue with NT WorkSafe and the NT Police Commissioner notified.
Once that step was taken, the decision was reviewed and reversed, with appropriate vehicles with instructor brakes being provided to Alice Springs. It should never have got to that stage and it raised wider concerns about management making police unsafe, he said. “My point is I want to highlight to members that under the Work, Health and Safety Act, safety is everyone’s responsibility, it’s actually legislated. “If you identify a hazard or something dangerous, submit a hazard report. “The HSRs are police officers and your go to person if you are not having any luck with management, and they can take action under the Act.
“As a Sergeant or HSR our responsibility is to the organisation, making them safe, reducing the risk for them, sometimes middle managers or some of the Executive don’t realise that.”
Chris Wilson
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